Cabin Fever
by denise1
Summary: A well meant gesture from Jack just might cost half his team their lives


Cabin Fever

By

Denise

Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

"Come on guys, it'll be fun," Jack said, his tone openly cajoling.

"The word fun means different things to different people," Teal'c said.

"T, don't be a stick in the mud," Jack rebuked.

"Sir, I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Sam said, staring at the man standing on the other side of her lab. Teal'c stood between them, his hands clasped loosely behind his back, his face deliberately calm and placid.

"I'm just following doctor's orders," Jack said.

"I don't think this is quite what Janet had in mind."

"She said that Jonas has a little cabin fever, that he needs to get out of the SGC, take a little vacation if you will."

"Somehow, I don't think a week in a rustic cabin is what she was thinking of," Sam said, pointing out the flaws in his proposal.

"It's not rustic," Jack objected. "Hot and cold running water, electricity and satellite TV. What more could you ask for?"

"Room service," she shot back, unfazed by his sharp look.

"You want room service, talk to Teal'c, he probably has a hat for it. Look guys, it won't be that bad. Kelsey's cabin is up by Cripple Creek. We're spitting distance from the town. Think of it as….a chance to bond."

"Bond?"

Jack shot Sam a look. "Who was the person taking me to task a few weeks ago for not being nice enough to Jonas?" he asked.

"I thought maybe you'd…bring him some Jell-O or something, not take him away for a week in a cabin," she said.

"Us," Jack corrected. "Us away."

Sam rolled her eyes. "That's my point…sir. I happen to have plans for this week."

"As do I," Teal'c said.

"T, we'll be back next Sunday. You'll still have a week with Ry'ac. I'll dial the gate myself. Carter, you can bring your laptop. You can even monopolize the phone line. I'd let you bring your reactor to fiddle with but I think that just might take an act of congress," he bargained.

Sam turned to Teal'c, sighing when she saw the surrender in his eyes. "I'm not cooking," she said.

"Carter?"

"This is my downtime. I'm not cooking, I'm not cleaning, and if I sleep until noon or stay up all night, I don't want to hear any complaints."

"Deal," Jack agreed. "I'll pick Jonas and Teal'c up at 0800, be by your place at 0900," he planned. "I'll get the food, but if you want anything special, you may want to bring it yourself. It's gonna be fun," he promised, ignoring the skeptical looks on their faces.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonas sat in the back seat of the truck, staring out the window at the passing scenery. This was slightly different from what little bits of Earth he had seen, different from the Colorado Springs area and a lot different to Steveston, Oregon, the only other Earth city he'd spent any time in.

The greenery dotting the rugged landscape was sparse and dry looking. It was warm outside and the cool air coming from the vents on the dash of the truck was a welcome counterpoint to the strong sunlight pouring through the windshield.

Sam and Teal'c were both sitting in the smaller backseat of the truck, despite Jonas' protestations that surely Teal'c would be more comfortable in the roomier front seat. Teal'c's eyes were closed and Jonas guessed that he was attempting some sort of meditation. Sam was reading a journal, a highlighter clenched lightly in her teeth. Colonel O'Neill was driving, one hand resting lightly on the steering wheel while the other lay in his lap. He was using some sort of remote control system, letting the vehicle govern its own speed instead of using his feet to apply pressure to the pedals.

Soft instrumental music filtered through the speakers on the dashboard, and seemed to be enough to fill the silence for his teammates.

Jonas still wasn't quite sure why they were doing this. It had been a complete surprise when Colonel O'Neill had knocked on the door of his quarters the previous evening, awkwardly inquiring into his health before informing him that he should pack a bag for a week and be ready to go in the morning, that all four members of SG-1 were going to take a bit of a vacation.

"Anybody need a pit stop?" O'Neill asked, breaking the silence of the vehicle.

"Sir?"

"We're about twenty miles out of Cripple Creek. I was thinking we could stop, grab some lunch, hit the grocery then make it up to the cabin by dinner," he planned.

"Works for me," she agreed.

"Jonas?"

"What? Oh, right, that's fine with me," he agreed, turning his attention back out the window. The road was narrow and twisty, winding in and out of mountain passes and valleys. He could see cattle grazing in the distance, barbed wire fences lining the roads.

This part of rural Colorado reminded him of Kelowna. The technology of Earth wasn't very prevalent here, only tall poles and wires testifying to electricity and telephone service.

It was peaceful here; almost peaceful enough that he could forget what was going on beneath Cheyenne Mountain. The humans were like his own people, ignorant of the threat that loomed over them, the menace that lurked beyond their sight.

Within a few minutes, they entered the town, Colonel O'Neill quickly finding a place to park his vehicle. "Burgers sound good?" he asked, nodding towards a fast food restaurant across the street.

They all agreed and got out of the vehicle, easily making their way across the street. They found seats in the small diner and ordered their meal. The colonel excused himself to use the facilities and Jonas self-consciously looked around the building, his hand straying to the ball cap he wore to cover the scar on his head.

Janet said that it would fade, and that his hair would grow to cover it…but both things would take several months. Until then, he was stuck wearing a hat, not only to cover the scar, but to also prevent awkward questions.

"Don't worry about it, Jonas," Sam said.

"What?"

"Lots of guys wear their hats inside. It's no big deal."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, a hat pulled low on his own forehead. "Some establishments frown upon the wearing of hats…I do not believe that this is one of them."

Sam chuckled and Jonas looked around, taking in their surroundings. The booths were red vinyl and the counter tops were some sparkling white substance Sam called Formica. The counters were lined with shiny stainless steel and neon signs hung in the windows.

There were only a few other people in the restaurant other than them, something Jonas attributed to the relatively early hour, it being a bit before noon and the traditional time to eat lunch.

Colonel O'Neill returned just as the waitress brought them four glasses of water and the menus. It didn't take them long to order, all four deciding to go with the safe bet of a burger and fries.

"Where exactly is this cabin?" Sam asked, taking a sip of her ice water.

"About ten miles southwest of town. It's a friend of Hammond's. It's on a lake up in the mountains. He owns about forty acres but there's no one else really around so we have the run of the place."

"Lake?" Sam asked, her eyebrows rising.

"Did you see any poles in the bed of my truck?" he shot back. "Actually, I think it's more of a large pond than a real lake. They dammed up a creek."

"So it's private?" Sam asked.

Jack nodded. "Murray ought to keep his hat handy but, we pretty much have the whole mountain to ourselves."

The waitress returned with their food and the next several minutes were spent in relative silence, muttered requests for condiments the only real conversation. Jonas stayed quiet, content to simply eat his food and let the others talk.

He still wasn't quite sure why he was here. Yes, he knew Colonel O'Neill's reasons, but it made no sense. Prior to this, the colonel had never really shown any enthusiasm for spending time in his presence. He could only think the man was motivated by some sort of sympathy…and that made the uncomfortable situation even more uncomfortable.

He knew that the colonel didn't particularly like him, and that was ok. He could deal with that, had been dealing with that for months. He actually expected it. Which was why this sudden turn around was catching him just a bit off guard.

"Is something wrong?"

Sam's voice caught his attention. "What?"

"You're not eating. Is something wrong with the burger?" He looked up, noticing that all three of them were watching him.

"No, it's fine," he said, picking up the sandwich and taking a big bite. He tried to smile while chewing; stopping once they all looked away, paying attention to their own meals.

He forced himself to eat his whole meal, despite the fact that he really wasn't hungry. It was obvious that they were doing this for him, so the least that he could do was make sure that they thought that he was enjoying it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam sat at the picnic table, her journal forgotten in her lap. Giving into the lure of the sun, she stretched out her legs and closed her eyes. As much as she loathed to admit it, the colonel had had a good idea.

After finishing their lunch yesterday, they'd stocked up on some groceries and headed out of town on Old Dump Road, a name that certainly hadn't filled Sam with confidence over what they'd find at the end of their journey.

She'd been pleasantly surprised when they'd bounced their way down a dirt road and discovered a large and picturesque cabin. The building was short and stocky, a story and a half with a partially finished attic providing the third bedroom in the form of two camp beds with a blanket hanging on a wire providing privacy.

The attic overlooked a sunken living room, two bulky couches and a sturdy table set facing a large fieldstone hearth. The other two bedrooms opened off the living room, the floor plan obviously meant to make the most of the fire's warmth should the electricity give out.

The kitchen was small, but well appointed with an apartment sized stove, refrigerator and freezer. The small bathroom was off the kitchen, arranged to make the most of the least amount of plumbing. A small cellar served as a pantry for canned goods and also held a small washer/dryer combo.

The cabin itself was nestled in a valley, a small creek running several hundred yards away. The creek had been dammed slightly, not enough to totally impede its flow, but enough to create a small pond, one someone evidentially enjoyed fishing on, if the overturned canoe was any indication.

Tall trees crowded the driveway, almost claustrophobically close in some places, providing an excellent shield from the road. The cabin was fantastically private and definitely a place for someone who wanted to get away from it all without giving up the creature comforts.

Hearing familiar footsteps, Sam kept her eyes closed, not in the mood to keep up the pretense that she was getting some work done. He'd probably figured it out anyway. "Carter?" She felt the table shift a bit as he sat across from her. "Hope you put on sunscreen."

"And bug spray," she answered, opening her eyes. "Where's Teal'c?"

"He's kelnoreeming in the woods."

"He doesn't need to kelnoreem anymore," she said.

"Yeah, actually I think he thinks as long as I think he's meditating I'm not going to ask him to fish," Jack said. "You seen Jonas?"

"Not since lunch. I think he's still inside."

Jack frowned. "He's been inside a lot."

"Sir?"

"Well, I thought, first time in the mountains he'd be off exploring or something."

"He's also recovering from his first time having brain surgery," she quipped. "He's probably taking a nap. What?" she asked, seeing him frown.

He shrugged. "I dunno. He's just been…quiet I guess."

Sam stopped and thought "I guess you're right. I mean, when we went to Steveston, Teal'c had to threaten to gag him to stop him from asking questions," she said, remembering her teammate's almost comical wide-eyed innocent looks. She'd actually found it more than a little funny to watch him stare out the window, riveted by the most simple of things.

"Do you think he's ok?"

"Colonel?"

Jack rolled his eyes, tapping his temple. "Brain surgery?"

"Janet cleared him. She said he might have a few headaches, but that he was on the mend," she said.

"Well, if it's not something physical…" Jack's voice trailed off.

"You think something's bothering him?"

He shrugged. "Dunno."

Sam sighed, staring off across the small pond, the large clearing around the cabin giving her an unimpeded view. "I could try talking to him," she offered. "See if something's wrong." She sat up, closing her journal and swinging her legs off the bench. "Maybe see if he wants to go for a walk, get some fresh air."

"Appreciate it. Just don't go too far."

"Sir?"

Jack nodded towards the west and the mountains that towered over them. "Forecast called for storms tonight, and as humid as it is, I think it'll happen."

"And they blow up fast," she confirmed, well acquainted with the quirks and vagarities of Colorado weather.

"Teal'c should be done in an hour or so, I set out some steaks earlier. I'll go put some potatoes in the oven. It'll take them about an hour and a half to bake."

Sam looked at her watch and got to her feet. "Be back at about 1800 then," she said, walking towards the cabin, already working out in her head what she needed to say to convince Jonas to take a little stroll.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonas followed Sam along the narrow path, the heavy shade making the humid air a bit more bearable. He could hear the occasional warble of birds in the distance, the sound meshing well with the soft whoosh of the breeze though the upper branches. It was nice here, greener and lusher than the area around Cheyenne Mountain, although he could see that it was showing signs of the drought he'd heard about. The trees were green, but it was a dark and slightly dusty green. The sparse grass under the trees was tinged with brown, something that was slightly odd given that it was late spring, and a time that he knew was usually one of plenty.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c both woke early and went outside first thing this morning. Sam slept in later, he thought he'd heard her start moving mid morning, finally going outside and leaving him alone in the attic.

He had slept a bit, the long drive having been more tiring than he wanted to admit. "It's nice up here," Sam said, turning to face him. "Just don't tell the colonel I said that," she smiled. "I'll never live it down."

"It is nice," he agreed, following her as she found and sat on a fallen log. He sat beside her, a bit relieved to get off his feet.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly.

"What?"

"You've been quiet. We were just a little…concerned."

He shook his head. "I'm ok, I…" He trailed off, not quite sure how to continue.

"You know this whole thing was the colonel's idea," she said.

"What?"

"The whole week away. He came up with all of it. Convinced Teal'c and I to come and-"

"You didn't want to come?"

"I was planning on taking a ride this week. But…now that I'm here, I am enjoying myself." He nodded, not surprised to have his suspicions confirmed. "Hey," she said, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. "He really does like you, you know," she said.

"What?"

"Colonel O'Neill."

He shook his head. "Sam-"

"If he didn't like you, you'd have been transferred months ago."

"The only reason Colonel O'Neill accepted me on SG-1 was because of the Russians," he said, his acceptance of that fact not lessening the hurt.

"Maybe at first, yes," she said. "But if you couldn't hold your own, you'd have been off the team within a month." She turned to look him in the eyes. "Jonas, you just have to give him some time. It took about a year before he loosened up with me, and that was only after we almost froze to death together. And no one is ever going to accuse him of being…" She paused, struggling to find the right word.

"Open," he supplied.

"That works. Look, this isn't the first time we've ever done this."

"Really?"

She nodded. "About five years ago." She paused, smiling slightly as she looked off into the distance. "They aah, knocked on my front door and…the next thing I knew he was helping me pack a bag and we were driving off. We ended up in Pueblo, spent a few days."

"Five years? That was …"

"Jolinar," she said. "Teal'c and Daniel…" She sighed. "This isn't pity. This is something friends do for friends. If you just want to sleep, that's fine. But don't feel like you have to do anything," she said sincerely.

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't…ooh boy," she said, looking up as a dull rumbling sound filtered through the trees.

"What was that?"

She got to her feet. "That is your first mountain thunderstorm," she said. "And something better experienced inside rather than outside." She held out her hand. "Come on. We need to hoof it back to the cabin."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack stepped onto the porch, whistling under his teeth as he joined Teal'c. "Wow," he said.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, studying the rushing water. "I did not believe we received that much precipitation."

"We didn't," Jack agreed. "Must have rained cats and dogs up in the hills." True to his prediction, it had started to rain the previous evening, the first drops literally chasing Sam and Jonas inside.

They'd eaten, listening to the storm intensify and linger far on into the night. The creek had given Jack a few moments of concern and he'd woken up more than once to glance out the window and make sure that it wasn't presenting a danger.

Fortunately, whomever Kelsey had hired to build this place had thought ahead, placing the cabin up high enough that the creek would have to rise thirty to forty feet to present a real flood issue. "We should probably check the road, make sure it's not blocked," he said, noting more than a few fallen branches and stripped leaves.

"I find it doubtful that Major Carter and Jonas Quinn will wish to remain if there is no electricity," Teal'c said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. He'd been awake at 0200 when the electricity had died, the remoteness of the cabin meaning that the lack of hum from the refrigerator had been the only sign. "Guess it's a good thing we didn't stock up too much."

"They may have the service restored soon."

"Might. Then again, we're at the end of the line. Power company might not even know we're blacked out," Jack said, surveying the large number of branches and twigs decorating the yard. There was a fairly strong breeze, fifteen to twenty miles an hour, and he had an idea that there might still be branches to fall.

"Whoa," Sam said, joining them outside. "You are definitely not getting any fishing done today," she said, staring at the short water fall created by the extra water careening over the small dam. The pond had risen several feet and widened even further due to the shallow banks. The pond that was maybe twenty yards across was now at least twice that, its clear water now slightly muddy and fast flowing.

"Could try body surfing," Jack quipped. "Or wind surfing."

"Any other damage?" she asked, a can of coke clenched in her hands, her substitution for the coffee that they couldn't make.

Jack shook his head. "I haven't had time to look, but I don't think so. I think we just caught the edge of it." He jerked his thumb towards the driveway. "I still need to see if we can get out."

"You know, I think I saw a generator downstairs," Sam said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, over behind the washer."

"I'll go check it out." He turned, turning back. "Did you and Jonas…"

"He's fine," she reassured. Jack nodded, sensing that she wasn't going to go into detail, and not really needing her to. He walked inside, making his way down the narrow, slightly rickety stairs into the cellar. He found the generator, sighing when he discovered that the tank was less than half full and that there was no spare can of fuel.

They'd definitely need to go into town if they decided to stay. He made his way back upstairs, snagging a bottle of orange juice from the fridge.

"He thought the only reason we're here is because…because we had to be here," he heard Sam say.

"O'Neill did make our participation mandatory," Teal'c said.

She shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. It's almost like he was convinced that we'd only spend time with him if we're ordered to."

"That is not true."

"And deep down, he probably knows that. He's just a little down right now."

"Then we shall do what we must to bring him up," Teal'c said.

"Hey, kids," Jack said, deliberately raising his voice and pretending that he'd only just returned. "Generator, yes, gas, no," he reported. "At least not enough to do us any good."

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked.

Jack shrugged. "Presuming everyone wants to stay, T and I can go into town, get some gas, check in, report the outage, then come back."

"I'm all for staying," Sam said.

"T?"

"I would not object."

"Ok."

"When you go into town, can you get some dry ice?"

"Carter?"

"It could save us having to plug the refrigerator in, make the generator last longer."

Jack nodded. "I can do that. T?" Teal'c nodded, moving to join him. "We'll be back in a few hours…unless of course the road's totally blocked and in that case, we'll be back in a few minutes and hope that Kelsey has a chain saw around here somewhere."

"Have fun," she said, toasting him with her can.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonas picked up a large branch, adding it to the stack in his arms. He followed Sam's motions, carrying it over to the stack she was making beside the cabin. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had been able to get down the drive and out onto the main road, and, Jonas presumed, were able to make it into town.

He and Sam had set about to clearing up the debris from the storm, gathering the fallen branches and stacking them in a pile to later be used as firewood. He could still hear the rushing of the water and see that the creek was running high. Sam said that it would likely take a day or two for the water to go down, and only then if there wasn't another storm this evening.

Part of him hoped that it would happen. He'd found the raw power of the storm fascinating to watch. They didn't often have storms like that on Kelowna, and usually when they did, they were seen as something to fear, not something to enjoy or watch. He'd sat up a good portion of the night, watching the storm through the small window up in the attic.

He knew O'Neill had done the same thing, he'd heard the man moving around on the lower floor, standing in front of one of the windows and keeping an eye on the dual threats, the storm and the rising creek.

"You doing ok?" Sam asked, dragging a branch over to the pile.

"Yeah."

"I thought we could take a break, grab a couple of sandwiches or something," she said, wiping her hand across her forehead.

"That'd be good."

"I'll be right back." She went inside, leaving him alone. He made his way across the clearing, grabbing a couple of branches and picking them up. He carried them back to the pile, frowning when a breeze blew through the trees, a slightly familiar aroma teasing his nostrils.

He dropped the branches on the pile just as Sam stepped out of the cabin. "Hope peanut butter and jelly works," she said, balancing two plates and two cans of pop.

"You didn't cook?"

"What? No. I didn't cook, why?"

"Then why do I smell smoke?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack walked down the narrow aisle of the hardware store, scanning the shelves. "I was thinking we'll just get five or six gallons of gas. If we run the generator only at night, it should last longer."

"Do you believe Major Carter and Jonas Quinn will retain their enthusiasm for remaining without electricity?"

Jack shrugged. "Probably not. If they can get the power back in a day or so, we'll be ok. If not, it'll be best to just cut our losses and go back to the Springs," Jack said. Once they'd reached the main road, they hadn't had much trouble, most of the fallen branches having either landed beside the road, or had already been moved to clear the way for traffic.

As near as he could tell, there were a few power outages in the town, but nothing overwhelming or crippling.

"Indeed."

Jack found the gas cans, picking up two three gallon ones and heading back to the front of the store. He pulled out his wallet and paid for the items before leaving the store, the local gas station his next destination. He noticed a sandwich shop across the street. "Want a sandwich?" he asked.

"O'Neill?"

"We can grab some lunch while we're here. And I still need to track down some dry ice," Jack said, finishing filling the cans. He went inside and paid, returning to the truck to find Teal'c standing there, his attention riveted on the street. "T?" Jack asked as he joined him.

"Something is happening," the Jaffa said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, frowning at the sudden increase of traffic. Cripple Creek was a bit of a boom town at the moment, the handful of casinos that lined the main street turning the old mining town into a bit of a tourist attraction. It was normal to see a lot of pedestrians milling around. However, at the moment, there was a distinct lack of pedestrians, even considering that it was a week day.

There was a tension in the air, a sense of something happening, something going on. Several emergency vehicles hurried down the street, all driving quickly and using their lights, but none using their sirens. "Must be a fire," Jack muttered, swinging the cans of gas into the bed of his truck. "Hey?" Jack called, waving his arms to catch the attention of a cop driving down the street. "What's going on?"

"Lightening strike started a fire," the man reported.

"How bad?"

"Pretty small right now, but as dry as we are…"

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Where is it at?"

"South of town, so don't worry, you should be ok here," the officer reassured.

"Where south of town?" Teal'c demanded.

"About fifteen miles down Highway 89," he said, his attention drawn to his radio as it crackled into life. "Look, I gotta go."

"Yeah, thanks," Jack said, stepping back as the officer drove off.

"O'Neill, is that not where we are staying."

"Yeah," Jack said, a feeling of dread settling into the pit of his stomach. "Plan's changed. Vacation's over. Let's go get Carter and Jonas out of there."

He climbed into his truck, shoving the keys into the ignition. He put the truck into gear and sped down the road, all thoughts of lunch banished by a sickening sense of urgency.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It must have been lightening," Sam said, craning her neck to look over the tops of the towering trees. Just a few hours before, those trees had seemed comforting and sheltering, shading them from the sun and affording them some privacy.

Now they looked menacing and a definite danger. She cursed the fact that they were nestled in a valley, the combination of the trees and hills meaning that her visibility was exceedingly limited.

Whomever had built the cabin had taken the precaution of clearing the brush and trees from around the structure, but there was enough old growth trees around to provide a very real danger. She remembered her assessment as they'd walked yesterday, the thick layer of dead pine needles covering the ground, the crunch of brown grass under her feet.

They were dry here, too dry for one night's rain to afford them much protection.

"Lightening strikes a tree and starts a fire," Jonas said. "Other than arson, the leading cause of forest fires."

"That and stupid people with camp fires," Sam agreed. "We need to find out where it is, how far away it is."

"Not too far if I can smell the smoke."

A gust of wind swept through the trees, making the branches sway and bringing with it an even stronger smell of smoke.

"With the wind this strong, it could be fifty miles away," she said. "Of course, if the wind's feeding it…" her voice trailed off.

Her sandwich forgotten, she spun on her heel, dashing back into the house, leaving Jonas no choice but to follow her. She grabbed for the phone, cursing under her breath as she jiggled the cord. "It's dead."

"The storm must have taken down the phone lines when it took out the power."

"Right."

She strode into her bedroom, snagging her bag off the floor. She dumped out her purse, grabbing her cell phone from among the stuff. She flipped it open. "Come on, come on," she muttered, pushing buttons. "No signal."

"We're too deep in the valley."

The wind gusted again, this time strong enough to make the windows shake. "We gotta get out of here," she said.

"Sam?"

"I have no idea where the fire is. If the wind is feeding it, it could be coming right at us." She motioned out the window at the creek, still running way too high. They would have had a hard time fording it yesterday, now with the extra rain, it would be even harder. "We're trapped here. We can't get away from it until we know where it is."

"We could start up the generator, use it to turn on the TV, find out where the fire is at," he said.

"Good." Tossing her phone onto the bed, she hurried past him, leading the way down to the basement. It took her only a few minutes to get the generator started, the dull chugging of the combustion engine sounding horribly loud, echoing off the stone walls of the cellar.

They hurried back upstairs, Sam grabbing for the remote to the TV. She turned it on, flipping through the channels. "Damn it."

"What?"

"It's all satellite, no local channels."

"Here." He held out his hand and she gave him the remote. "Sometimes CNN does special reports." He flipped to the news channel and they stood there, reading the scrolling headlines at the bottom of the screen. "There," he said as the words 'breaking news' flashed across the screen. "South of Cripple Creek, Colorado," he read. "Sam, aren't we-"

"South of Cripple Creek, Colorado," she confirmed.

"We're in trouble."

"We're in big trouble."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack sped down the road, ignoring the presence of police cars as the needle on his speedometer kept creeping upwards. "Try it again," he ordered.

Much to his relief, Teal'c didn't protest, he simply dialed Jack's cell phone, listening to it for a few seconds before terminating the connection with a shake of his head. "It will not connect."

"Damn it, where is she?"

"It is most likely that Major Carter is at the cabin, however it is equally likely that the same storm that damaged the power also damaged the telephone lines."

Jack didn't respond, his attention torn between watching the traffic and the billowing cloud of smoke that hovered on the horizon. Droning voices spilled out of the truck radio, relaying the same information over and over. Jack didn't need to hear all the details to know the scenario. A lightening strike, dry trees and even drier grass. A freshening breeze, that seemed so pleasant this morning, was now a harbinger of destruction, fanning the flames to deadly proportions.

The smoke had grown in the past several minutes, as had the number of emergency vehicles speeding past them and the number of cars headed in the other direction, refugees Jack knew, recognizing the panicked looks on their faces and the haphazard method of packing.

They'd been evacuated, probably with only fifteen minutes notice to pack what they could and run for their lives.

"The fire appears to be gaining in intensity," Teal'c said.

"Yeah."

"It is possible that it is not a danger to Major Carter and Jonas Quinn."

Jack didn't respond, in no mood for Teal'c's attempts at reassurance. They could be safe, but they could just as easily be stuck directly in the path of the fire…and Jack didn't even know if they had any idea of the danger headed their way. With no phone, no TV…for all he knew Jonas was sleeping the day away and Carter was sitting there with her nose in a journal, oblivious to the world.

He crested a hill and caught sight of flashing lights in the road ahead. "Damn it," he cursed, slowing down as traffic backed up. He could see people starting to turn around, awkwardly making U-turns on the narrow road.

"It appears that the police have cordoned off the area."

"Ya think," Jack said, rolling down his window as he approached the road block. "Officer, what's going on?"

"We have a fire. You need to turn around and go back to town," the man instructed.

"My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF. I've got two of my people at a cabin down there. I've been trying to get a hold of them for the past hour."

"Cell towers are down," the officer said. "As well as power and phone."

"Yeah, I know. That's why we left, to get gas for the generator. I have no idea if they know about the fire, I need to go get them."

"I can't let you do that."

"Officer-"

"Colonel, I understand, believe me. And if you tell me exactly where they are, I can get word to the fire crews in the area, but you're not going down there."

Jack looked at Teal'c, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he contemplated running the roadblock…for about three seconds. "Who's your CO?" he asked.

"Sir?"

"I need to talk to whomever's running this show," Jack requested.

The officer sighed, looking behind Jack at the lengthening line of traffic. "Pull over," he said. "I'll call him, but I got no guarantee when he'll get here. He's just a little bit busy right now."

"Thanks," Jack said, turning the wheel hard to maneuver his truck onto the narrow shoulder.

"What are you planning, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack reached for his phone. "I'm gonna call Hammond, see what strings he can pull."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam jerked on the hose, doing her best to aim it up at the roof of the cabin. The wind caught the stream of water, disbursing it and scattering the glittering droplets. "That's it," Jonas said. "There's no more hose." He hurried over towards her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm hoping if the roof is wet, it'll slow down the fire," she said.

"Do you think it'll work?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I think it's getting closer," he said, motioning off towards the west. "Maybe it will stop at the road?"

"I don't think so, not with this wind. The embers will blow across the road."

He looked at the stream. "Maybe we can find somewhere to ford the steam, get on the other side and up onto those rocks." He pointed at the large bare area a mile or so away. The rock face there was barren, just a few hardy tufts of grass decorating the gray boulders.

"Maybe," she said. "I just don't want to get too far away from here. If the colonel knows about the fire, he'll be back. And they won't have time to look for us when they do come."

Something caught his eyes and he looked up, staring in amazement as things started to float down from the sky. Frowning, he held out his hand, catching a flake in his hand. "Warm snow?" he asked.

"Ashes," she said, craning her neck and turning her head towards the sky. She stared at the environmental oddity, the lighter than air bits of ash raining down on them, slowly turning the clearing into a bizarre bastardization of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Normally, she would have thought it was pretty…if she wasn't so sure that they were going to die.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack squinted his eyes, raising his hand to shield his face from the rotor wash. The large Army helicopter landed in the field, its huge rotors thumping the air. It was now late afternoon and a good three hours since he'd gotten through to General Hammond. He had a funny feeling that the old man had called in a lot of favors this time. Yes, the fire was a large one, and yes, it was threatening several homes, but it still wasn't quite on the scale to justify the use of an Army helicopter. The fire fighting efforts were still a civilian operation.

He waited until the engine settled into idle before walking forward, instinctively hunching over. "Colonel O'Neill?" the pilot said, opening his door.

"Yeah."

"Major Nellis, Fort Carson. I understand you need a ride?"

"Yes. I have two of my people stuck at the cabin we were staying at. We need to extract them."

"Local's ok with it?"

"They're not too thrilled, but they'll get over it," Jack said, downplaying the officer's feelings. He couldn't blame the man, during their short conversation the chief of police had been beset with several protests about the evacuation, along with one tearful little girl upset because they'd had to leave her dog behind.

Jack knew that he was doing the best he could, trying to save lives while safeguarding the lives of the people under his command, the human desire to help warring with his instinctual desire to run like hell and get to safety.

"I can't get word on how close to the cabin the fire is," Jack continued. "The trees have been cleared but we might have to do a ladder extraction."

"Ok," the major said. "Climb in."

Jack nodded to Teal'c and led the way around to the other side of the helicopter, climbing in. They strapped themselves into their seats, accepting the earphones that the crew handed to them.

"Where is this cabin?" Major Nellis asked.

"Southwest, about twenty clicks," Jack said.

"Copy that." The rotors revved up and Jack felt the helicopter ascend. He turned in his seat, craning his neck to look out the window. They'd had to drive to the north edge of Cripple Creek to find a place for the helicopter to land that wouldn't interfere with the fire fighting efforts and now he watched as they flew over the town. Trying to get his bearings, he watched as they followed the road, bearing a bit to the east when the thick smoke obscured their vision.

It was a lot closer to the cabin than he'd feared, he discovered as they reached the clearing, the helicopter's ability to go 'as the crow flies' cutting several miles off the journey.

"The cabin is intact," Teal'c said as they hovered, fifty feet above the clearing.

"Not for much longer," Nellis said. "The fire's already coming down the ridge."

Jack turned his head, catching sight of the angry red flames licking their way down the slope, jumping from tree to tree.

"It's in the crowns," one of the men said, referring to the fact that the fire had left the ground and was now burning its way from treetop to treetop.

The helicopter started to buck and wobble. "We're not gonna be able to stay here long," Nellis said. "The wind currents are too strong."

Jack unbuckled his seatbelt, moving to look out the side door. He couldn't see any sign of movement around the cabin, other than the waving of the trees, the strong wind from the fire whipping them into a frenzy.

"You're sure this is the place?" Nellis asked.

"Yeah," Jack said, wondering where they were. He knew exactly how noisy a Huey was, and that not even Jonas could sleep through the racket.

"Perhaps someone retrieved them," Teal'c said.

"Maybe they're inside."

"Major, it's crossed the road," the co-pilot said.

"Colonel, we're running out of time."

"O'Neill?"

Jack looked down, his eyes darting from the cabin to the road, watching as the flames hopped from tree to tree, moving towards the cabin faster than he could even drive down the short driveway.

"Can you land?" he asked.

"No, sir. Not safely."

"The ladder?"

"There's no time, sir," the crewman beside him said. "It'd take ten minutes to rig it."

"I can't stay here," Nellis said, muttering some very un-officer like curses as the chopper bucked, Jack's arm shooting out to steady himself.

"Go," Jack said, hating himself for his decision.

"Colonel?"

"Get the hell out of here," he said, sliding back into his seat.

The helicopter swooped and turned, the rotors fighting the strong air currents as it struggled to gain altitude. "O'Neill?"

"We won't do them any good if we're dead," Jack said, needlessly answering Teal'c's unspoken question. "Rig your ladder," Jack ordered the crewman. "We'll go back in an hour, and you're going to drop us off."

"The way that fire is burning, sir, it'll still be smoldering tomorrow morning. It'll be too hot."

"We're coming back," Jack said, his tone broking no argument, his eyes riveted out the window, the ruddy red light from the fire flickering merrily. They were coming back, even if he had to figure out how to fly this damned thing himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Almost there," Sam said, pausing for a second and turning around. Jonas was behind her, struggling a bit as he followed her up the incline and towards the rocks at the top. They'd waited at the cabin as long as she felt was safe, the sight of flames cresting the top of the ridge spurring her to abandoning the cabin. As the crow flies, the rocks and the marginal safety they provided weren't really that far away, maybe a mile or so…but the fact that the distance was all uphill, and on the other side of a raging creek, made her wonder if she hadn't already left it too late. "We're going to have to climb," she said.

Jonas nodded, his breath coming in harsh, rasping gasps. She was pushing him, she knew. Normally, Jonas was fit, just as fit as she was. But normally, he wasn't less than a month post-op from having his head cut open.

She made her way back to him. He was hunched over, his hands resting heavily on his thighs, his chest heaving. "Jonas, we have to get up on the rocks," she said softly. "We stay down here in the trees, we're dead."

"I know," he gasped. "I won't slow you down."

"You're not," she smiled. "But the sooner we're up there, the better the view," she said, trying to inject some optimism in her voice. In reality, she didn't know if it was safe. Yes, there was nothing to burn on the rocks, but there would still be the heat and the wind and the smoke, not to mention the fire consuming the very oxygen they needed to survive.

They may survive, or they may just be finding a way to escape the flames and not the fire. Maybe, if they were lucky, they'd be able to find some sort of cave or indention in the rocks that might give them some shelter.

"Do you hear that?" he frowned, standing up straight.

"Hear what?"

"I don't…" He scanned the sky. "There!"

She followed his pointing hand, hope flaring in her breast at the sight of a large helicopter swooping in. "HEY!" she yelled, waving her arms.

Jonas followed suit, yelling and waving. "They can't see us," he said. "The trees are too thick."

"Come on." She grabbed his arm, pulling him down the hill. He followed her, gravity quickly turning their dash into a pell mell, barely under control, run. It took them only minutes to cover the ground it'd taken them over half an hour to climb up.

"HEY! HEY!" she screamed, stumbling into the clearing beside the creek. She fell to her knees and felt Jonas grab her arm, pulling her up. They ran to the water's edge, still frantically waving their arms as the helicopter banked, flying back the way it'd come.

"Where are they going?" Jonas demanded as Sam slumped, her knees going out from under her.

"They didn't see us." She watched the Huey leave, all too quickly disappearing into the billowing smoke. "They didn't see us."

"We've got to call them back," Jonas said, looking around them helplessly.

"Oh my god."

"What?" Sam didn't answer and he looked down. She was staring to the west and he followed her gaze, his eyes going wide at the hellacious sight before him.

As he watched, flames jumped from tree to tree, reaching the edge of the clearing. A wave of heat struck him, an invisible but physical force, as strong as the bone chilling Antarctic winds had been. He watched as the shingles on the cabin's roof started to steam and smoke. A tree spontaneously combusted into flame, flaring like a fifty foot tall match with a deep whooshing sound that Jonas knew he'd never forget.

Ash and embers began to rain down upon them as the roar of the flames filled his ears. In that moment he realized he understood the meaning of the word hell.

Sam struggled to her feet. "We've got to-" She turned, trying to run back up the hill.

"We'll never make it," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward.

"Jonas!"

"The water," he said, running towards the pond. He splashed in, barely feeling the chill of the water. It may have been early summer, but the ground was still cold, as was the rain water that had filled the pond. Sam splashed behind him, struggling as he was with the tall grass that quickly gave away to the strong current of the pond.

"It's too hot," she said.

He looked around. The surface of the pond was starting to steam, surrendering to the inexorable heat of the fire. It was hot. Too hot. They could maybe shelter from the flames in the water, but it was just a temporary fix. While the water may protect them, it couldn't provide for them the one thing they needed to survive, which was also the one thing the fire was consuming just as greedily as it was the trees…oxygen.

"Come on," he said, pulling her towards the far side.

"Jonas?"

He didn't respond, instead pulled her towards the center of the pond. His feet lost touch with the bottom and he swam, struggling in the current. Surprisingly, she didn't question him further, although he didn't know if it was because she trusted him, or because she was too occupied trying to stay afloat to talk.

His feet brushed the bottom and he craned his neck, the flickering light of the fire illuminating his goal. "Stay here," he said. He ducked under the water, wetting himself down. He swam forward, trying to keep as much of his body as possible under the water for as long as he could.

Finally, he had no choice but to leave the water. He hurried forward, his heavy, wet clothes weighing him down. He grabbed the edge of the canoe, adrenaline helping him drag the craft away from the fire and towards the water's edge.

He pulled it into the water, struggling to make sure that it stayed upside down. He felt a presence at his side and turned to see Sam helping him. Together, they maneuvered the canoe into the deepest part of the pond before ducking under it to pop up in the air pocket created by the canoe.

He grabbed onto the seat, using it to hang onto to save him from having to tread water. "Good idea," Sam gasped, hanging onto the other seat.

Jonas nodded, staring around them. The water was glowing red, the intense light from the fire making it look like they were swimming in iridescent, glowing water. "I figured it'd buy us some time." He shifted his grasp, hissing through his teeth as his hand brushed the aluminum bottom of the canoe. It was getting hot and he realized the one flaw in his plan, the heat conductivity of metal.

"Let's just hope it buys us enough," she said, meeting his gaze.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c stared out the window of the helicopter, straining his eyes to see some detail in the gathering dusk. Although he knew O'Neill had intended to return to the cabin in an hour, it was more like three hours since they had fled the fire and they were fighting time now, as well as the environment. They were less than an hour from sunset, however the dense smoke was blocking the sun, sending the area into a premature twilight.

Below him, he could see little but blackness, dotted with the occasional spot of smoldering red and the ghostly wraiths of smoke. The fire had indeed been fierce, and was still out of control, burning its way eastward. From what he had overheard, there was hope that the lessening of the breeze with the nightfall would assist in the efforts to contain the blaze.

He could see the dim light of the air craft's cabin illuminating O'Neill's face. The man's eyes were staring sightlessly out the windows, his mouth tight and drawn, his features carefully set.

He knew the colonel's thoughts were not with them and their return to the cabin, but with what they would find when they got there. Given the barrenness below, Teal'c knew O'Neill harbored little hope of finding Major Carter and Jonas Quinn alive. The firefighters had called it a 'firestorm', a term Teal'c found most applicable. What he'd witnessed bore a striking resemblance to the fierceness of the thunderstorm that had started the fire only this time the life giving water replaced by the life-taking flame.

"Colonel," Nellis said through the headphones. "I'm not going to be able to stay, sir," he said.

"Major?"

"This bird's not rigged for night ops, and we're running low on fuel."

"Since when don't you fly at night?" O'Neill demanded.

"That's why you were able to get this flight, sir. This chopper was on the repair list. I've got instrument issues. I can fly during the day, but not at night. I'm barely going to make it back to the fort as it is."

O'Neill looked at Teal'c and he saw him sigh. "Ok. Drop us off. We'll go it alone."

"We can be back at first light, sir," Nellis said. "I can give you a radio, and we can let S&R know where you are."

"I appreciate it."

They reached the cabin, or the clearing where the cabin used to be. Even in the fading light, Jack could see that all that had really survived was a couple of the walls and the field stone fire place. In what he thought was the kitchen, he could see the misshapen forms of the appliances, their white surfaces glinting dully in the twilight.

The crewman opened the door and rolled out the ladder, the metal rungs scraping dully on the deck. "Ready when you are, sir," he said. O'Neill nodded, moving into position. As Teal'c watched, he slid out the door of the helicopter, climbing down the swaying ladder.

Teal'c waited ten seconds, then mimicked his leader's actions. His hands clenched at the rungs as the ladder swayed slightly in the rotor wash. It took them just a minute or two to reach the ground, both of them deliberately stepping back so that the crewman would know that they were clear. The man pulled up the ladder and the helicopter flew off, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

Silently snapping on his flashlight, O'Neill led the way towards the cabin, his pace slow and deliberate. Teal'c followed him, unable to keep from staring at the utter devastation around them.

Everything was gone. The grass they'd walked on earlier that morning had been burned, just a few crumbly bits remaining here and there. The trees around the clearing were still smoking slightly. Some of them still had their branches, others were nothing but a blackened trunk.

They circled the cabin, O'Neill poking around carefully until he could find a safe way to get into the structure. He walked around slowly, his flashlight moving steadily back and forth, paying special attention to the corners, occasionally lingering on a smoking lump. Teal'c knew what he was doing, it was the same thing he was doing.

They were looking for bodies.

Teal'c knew that even as hot as the fire was, there was a good chance that part of the body had survived, hopefully enough for them to identify and take back with them.

The acrid smell of smoke filled his nostrils. It made his lungs ache and his eyes burn. He could still feel the heat of the fire through his heavy boots. They made their way through the kitchen and towards the cellar, taking heed when they approached the hole, knowing that they damaged floorboards likely would not be able to carry their weight.

Here, the damage was different, the debris more scattered. "Generator blew," O'Neill said tersely.

"I concur."

They split up, each exploring a different bedroom. Teal'c knelt down, picking up a melted mass of plastic, his fingers running slowly across its misshapen surface. It was still warm to the touch, the plastic slightly malleable.

He sighed heavily, recognizing it. "Whatcha got?" O'Neill asked, coming up behind him. Teal'c held up the plastic. "Major Carter's laptop. She will not be happy to discover that it has been damaged." He slowly got to his feet, turning to look O'Neill in the eyes. "If they perished, I do not believe that it was here," he said.

O'Neill nodded. "Yeah. Carter's smart enough to get away from the generator."

They left the cabin, Teal'c still clutching the destroyed computer. "I believe they would have attempted to flee the fire."

"You don't think they would have tried for the road?" O'Neill asked.

Teal'c slowly shook his head. "I do not think so. They would have remained here as long as possible in the hopes that we would return."

"Yeah," he said flatly, his shoulders slumping. Teal'c could read the defeat in his voice, see it upon his face. Normally, their mutual loyalty would be thought of as a benefit, a 'good thing'. In this case, that loyalty might have cost two of them their lives.

"Where would Major Carter flee?" he asked after a few moments.

"What?"

"Imagine you were here. You see the flames coming towards you. You have no transport other than your feet. Where would you go?"

"Teal'c-"

"You have known Major Carter for several years, you are familiar with her thinking processes. Where would she go?" he asked evenly.

O'Neill slowly turned in a circle, his flashlight playing across the blackened landscape. "There," he said, gesturing with his flashlight. He pointed towards the naked rocks on the summit of a hill overlooking the valley. "That's what the fire fighters look for, somewhere that can't burn. You'd go there."

"Then we shall go there," Teal'c said, sliding his backpack off his shoulders. He unzipped it and put the laptop in before zipping it up and sliding his arms back through the straps. He noted that the level of water in the creek was now significantly lower, either a result of the flood running its course or because of evaporation caused by the heat of the fire.

He led the way to the small dam, the receding water leaving more of it exposed. Its wide concrete surface was covered with aquatic plants and moss which made it slippery to walk on.

It appeared that the canoe had survived the fire, mostly intact. It bobbed upside down, the bottom scorched and marred by a large vicious hole, maybe caused by shrapnel from the generator exploding. There was still a bit of a current but he did not think that it was too much for them to cross.

O'Neill followed him, apparently willing to risk the current rather than going quite some distance out of their way to find a shallower and narrower part of the stream.

He climbed up on the dam, shining his flash light so that he could see better. "Think we can make this?" O'Neill asked, eyeing the current.

"I shall go first," Teal'c said, looking down stream. Even though the water was still high, he felt that they could probably manage it should they fall. He started across, shifting his balance a bit as he entered the main current. It was strong, but not unbearable. "The current is navigable," he said, turning back slightly to look at O'Neill.

O'Neill nodded, following Teal'c's steps onto the dam. They made it to the other side, both shining their flashlights on the shore, searching for some sign of someone else passing this way. "We shall soon lose the light," Teal'c said.

"I know," O'Neill said. "We're stuck here until morning. We'll get up on those rocks, it'll be safe to camp there."

"And if we do not find them?"

O'Neill turned, fixing him with a determined gaze before turning silently back, squaring his shoulders as he started to make his trek up the hill and towards the rocks, and whatever they would find there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack stared to the east, dispassionately watching the sky lighten. It was going to be a gorgeous sunrise, all the smoke and particulate matter in the air promising to refract the growing light in a spectacular manner.

As he watched, the ruddy glow of the now far away fires faded a bit. He'd spent most of the previous night watching those fires as they grew and moved, the crimson light flaring as it crested a hill, then fading as it sped down into a valley, out of sight, but not out of mind.

The breeze picked up a bit, stirring the oppressive smoke with fresh air in mother nature's first attempt to rejuvenate itself. All around him, smoke still wafted from smoldering fires, rising like specters towards the heavens.

He heard Teal'c stir beside him. He hadn't slept either but had sat silently at his side, a corrobative witness. "O'Neill."

"The chopper will be here soon," Jack said, sighing as he got to his feet. He brushed the dirt and debris off his pants. "We'll get them to take us back into town. We need to file a missing persons report, get some search crews up here."

Teal'c also got to his feet and moved to stand at Jack's side. "You had no way to know that this would happen," he said, his low words sounding horribly loud in the deathly stillness of their surroundings.

There were no birds, no animal sounds at all. Simply the chilling whine of the wind through the skeletal remnants of the trees, even the creek was quieter, its surface clogged with debris and ash.

Jack shrugged, knowing the truth in Teal'c's words, but not yet ready to accept it. No, he hadn't known about the storm, hadn't known that there would be a fire, hadn't known that instead of doing them a favor by letting them remain at the cabin, he was instead condemning them to a horrific and terrifying death.

It didn't mean that it wasn't his fault, that they were only here because of him, that he'd killed them just as surely as if he'd put a gun to their head and pulled the trigger himself.

"Maybe they have dogs," Jack continued, turning his back on the rising sun and making his way back down the hill.

They had spent several hours exploring the hilltop the night before, slowly picking their way across the uneven surface, both straining their eyes for some sign that their friends had made it up to the top. They found no sign at all on the rocks, and nothing but more scorched earth on the other side.

He heard a familiar thumping sound as the radio in his pocket crackled into life. "Army chopper three to O'Neill. Do you read?"

"O'Neill here."

"You still needing a ride, Colonel?"

"Ten-four on that, Major," Jack said. "We're on top of the rise, due east of the cabin."

"We got a visual, sir," Nellis said. "We should be able to land right there."

"Roger that." Jack watched as the helicopter swooped in, landing neatly about a hundred yards away. They made their way to it, easily climbing into the large side door of the machine. Jack slid into a seat, automatically reaching for the seatbelt.

"I take it you didn't find what you were looking for," Nellis said as soon as Jack put on the headset.

"Afraid not," Jack answered. "Can you return us to Cripple Creek. My truck's there."

"Not a problem, sir," Nellis said, smoothly lifting off.

"Bad fire, huh?" the crewman said.

"What?"

"They think they can stop it at I-25," he continued. "It was threatening the fort for a while there last night. I understand NORAD even went on alert and shut the doors."

"Really," Jack said, struggling to feel anything but apathy. He should care that the base had been threatened. Should give a damn that Colorado Springs itself was obviously in the line of fire. Should be worried about his house and if he had somewhere to go home to. But right now, he didn't care about much of anything beyond getting some help to come back and find the rest of his team.

The town of Cripple Creek slowly came into view as Major Nellis maneuvered his craft to the north side of the town where they'd taken off from the previous day. He landed his bird, setting it gently down in the vacant lot.

Jack unclipped his seat belt and turned to face Nellis. "Thank you, Major," he said seriously. "I appreciate the help."

"Any time, Colonel," he said. "General Mansfield told me to tell you to tell General Hammond that it's to be single malt scotch, at least ten years old."

"I'll pass it on," Jack promised. He climbed out of the huey, leading Teal'c to a safe distance as the craft took off in a short hurricane rush of wind.

Jack led the way to his truck, pulling his keys out of his pants pocket. He put his pack in the bed and saw Teal'c do the same before climbing in. "I'm gonna talk to the sheriff first, get the search crews out, then I'll call Hammond," Jack said, planning out loud.

He knew that he needed to call the general, not only to thank him for arranging the helicopter, but to also break the news to him that things had been far from successful. All he could hope was that the man would honor his request to stay and search instead of returning to the base, which was a very real possibility if the fire had come as close to the SGC as the crewmember had suggested.

"And if General Hammond requests that we leave the search for Major Carter and Jonas Quinn in the hands of the crews trained to do so?" Teal'c asked pointedly.

Jack sighed. "I dunno," he said honestly.

He drove to the sheriff's office, noting that while there had been some lessening in activity, it was still a very busy place. He parked his truck down the block and got out, taking a moment to put their packs in the cab before locking the door.

He walked towards the sheriff's office, smiling at the receptionist as he made his way inside. "Can I help you?" she asked helpfully.

"Yeah. I need to make a missing person's report. And I need to get a search crew down south of town," Jack said.

"Sir, as I'm sure you can imagine we're very busy right now. There was a fire and-"

"I know there was a fire. That's why I need a search," Jack interrupted.

"Two of our friends were in the path of the fire. We need assistance in finding them," Teal'c said.

"Sir, I can't just-"

"Yes, you can," Jack interrupted again. "Why don't you just get me the sheriff and-"

"The sheriff is very busy right now."

"I don't care-"

"I'll take care of this," a man said, stepping forward. "I'm Sheriff Miller. What can I do to help you gentlemen?"

"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force. Two of my people are missing. I need to do whatever I need to do to get search crews out looking for them."

The man studied him for a second. "Air Force, huh? I don't suppose you have anything to do with the helicopter that was flying over my town this morning?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"They were doing me a favor," Jack said.

"Well, maybe they can do you a favor and help you with this search," Miller said, turning on his heel. "Do you have any idea how many missing people I have right now?"

He started to walk down a short hall leading back into the more private parts of the sheriff's office. "Look, sheriff, I'm not trying to get in the way or anything. We came into town yesterday and left two of my friends back at the cabin. They had no way to get out. We went back and looked once, we couldn't find them. We need help," Jack said, following the man.

"I don't have a lot of people to spare right now," Sheriff Miller said.

"I understand. I'll take whatever help you can give me," Jack said, struggling to keep the frustration from his voice.

"As a matter of fact, I think I only have two people to spare." The sheriff opened a door. "They're a little rough around the edges, but they might be what you're looking for."

Jack walked into the room, unable to not stare at the two people sitting on the institutional vinyl couch. Both were clad in gray sweat suits, the shirts emblazoned with the logo from one of the local casinos.

"Colonel, there you are," Carter said, standing up. "We were wondering where you guys got off to."

"Major Carter. Jonas Quinn," Teal'c said. "I am most pleased to see that you are alive."

"You're not the only one," Sam said.

"Search and Rescue found them last night," the sheriff said. "We offered to get them back to Colorado Springs but they wanted to stay here and find you guys."

"Thank you," Jack said.

"Not a problem," Miller said, his demeanor changing now that he'd sprung his surprise. "Kelsey's cabin?"

Jack shook his head. "It's a total loss."

"Figured. I've got a contact number, I'll let him know."

"I appreciate it," Jack said.

"You guys take your time. Let Marcia know when you leave. I just hope the rest of my missing persons reports turn out this good." He left them alone and Sam and Jonas sat back down on the couch. Despite their smiling faces, Jack could see an underlying tiredness. Both of them had dark circles under their eyes and Sam's hair bore the unmistakable signs of simply being combed out while wet and left to dry untended.

"You two ok?" he asked.

"A little singed, but we're fine," Sam said.

"How did you escape?" Teal'c asked.

"Body surfing," Sam quipped.

"What?"

"We tried to use the canoe first," Jonas answered Jack. "We put it upside down in the water. But it got too hot."

"So we swam for it," Sam said.

"The creek carried us far enough away from the fire that we could make our way to the road. One of the fire crews found us and picked us up."

Sam and Jonas looked at each other and Jack saw a wealth of words pass unspoken between them. Clearly he was being given a Reader's Digest version of the Reader's Digest version of all that had happened the night before. He was sure that far more had happened than either of them wished to discuss.

He considered pushing them, and then changed his mind. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered other than the fact that they were both here, relatively unhurt and alive. "Well," he said, injecting a note of enthusiasm in his voice. "Since there's no cabin to go back to, why don't we head home? Get you two checked out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam sat in the lounge chair, trying to hide a bemused grin at the colonel went back into the house, obviously being sent by Teal'c to fetch something. Jonas sat beside her, a new pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun. "Is it just me or-"

"I think he feels guilty," Sam said. Their leader had been incredibly solicitous since their return from their disastrous vacation two days before.

There had been no teasing and even a surprising offer for a ride to take her to the local DMV to replace her lost driver's license. More than a little overwhelmed with all the work required to close and replace all her lost identification cards and credit cards, Sam willingly accepted his help, for the first time realizing just how much of her life was contained in her wallet.

"He doesn't have anything to feel guilty about. It's not his fault," Jonas said.

"Enjoy it," Sam said. "Trust me, the guilt will only last for a day or two. Colonel Grumpy will be back by the weekend." Jonas gave her a sharp look, frowning until he realized that she was just teasing. "I never got a chance to say thank you," she said softly.

"What?"

"I'm not that good of a swimmer, Jonas. I never would have made it down that creek."

"Yeah you would have."

She shook her head. "No. I was gonna run for it. And I wouldn't have made it. You saved my life. Thank you."

He stared at her for a second before simply nodding, accepting her thanks.

"Somebody call a nurse?" she heard Jack say as he came back out into his back yard, a woman following him.

"Sam?"

She shot him a look, unable to smother a grin. "It's a Kelwonan custom, right?" She waved the woman over. "Come on over here, Laurie." She got to her feet, laying her hand on Jonas' shoulder to keep him from standing up. "Don't worry about pickup lines, just talk to her," she whispered to Jonas. "She does like you." She turned to the woman. "Glad you could make it, Lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you for the invitation," Lieutenant Rush said.

"We're off duty, it's Sam. And thank you. The burgers should be ready in a little bit, make yourself at home."

Sam walked away from the pair, staking her claim on a section of the picnic table closer to the grill. "Major Carter," Teal'c acknowledged. Sam smiled, sitting beside him.

"You taking up a new hobby, Carter?" Jack asked, taking the spatula from Teal'c and checking on the burgers.

Sam shook her head, glancing over at Jonas and Laurie who were both chatting, the nurse obviously doing her best to overcome any inkling of shyness Jonas had. "Just doing a favor for a friend," she answered. "Although, you know, since knitting didn't work out, I could try matchmaking. Teal'c, you know, there is this lab tech up on level eighteen who-"

"Major Carter, I do not require your assistance. Perhaps O'Neill would wish to avail himself of your offer."

Sam turned to Jack, grinning as she watched his face color, the infusion of red that had little to do with the heat from the barbecue. "Burgers' ready," he said loudly, pointedly ignoring Teal'c.

Sam laughed, grabbing her plate and moving towards the grill. "You know, sir, I understand that Janet is free tomorrow night…"

"Carter-"

"Or maybe Major Willis?"

"Carter-"

"Or there's always-"

"Grumpy, Carter," he interrupted. "Very, very grumpy."

"But sir."

"Maybe I should call the Pentagon," he said loudly. "See what Major Davis is up to."

"Oh, no, sir, that's not necessary-"

"Maybe he's even free this weekend."

"Right, knitting it is. Socks, anyone want some socks."

Fin


End file.
